A Quiet Life
by Gary Merchant
Summary: The Brigadier finds that retirement is far from dull.


A QUIET LIFE  
  
So, this was how it ended. After what had seemed a lifetime he was being 'put out to grass' as some wag had unsubtly put it. However, Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart knew better . . .  
  
"Sorry about this, Alistair." Sir John Sudbury was truly apologetic. "New blood and all that. I did my best."  
  
The Brigadier nodded. "I know, Sir John, and it's appreciated." He sat back in his seat, nursing a glass of best malt whisky. "Even so, given UNIT's background, you'd have thought they could have picked someone with more of an open mind."  
  
"You don't think Crichton is up to the job?"  
  
"Oh, he's a perfectly good soldier, but he's hardly had any experience of what we did over the years."  
  
Sir John smiled. "Nor had you, all those years ago." Lethbridge Stewart returned the smile, recalling the London Underground, the Yeti, and his first meeting with the Doctor. "So, Alistair. Any plans?"  
  
"I thought I might go back into teaching - maths." The Brigadier caught Sir John's look of surprise. "Oh, I know how many beans make five, don't you worry. There's a vacant position at Brendon School. Do you know the place?"  
  
"I've heard good things about it." There was a note of caution in Sudbury's voice.  
  
"Sir John, why did you invite me here? The official farewell isn't until the end of the week."  
  
"You know me too well, Alistair." Sir John paused, choosing his words. "I'd like to think that I can call on your services in the future."  
  
The Brigadier was curious. "In an official capacity?" he ventured.  
  
Sir John nodded. "From time to time."  
  
Lethbridge Stewart had to suppress a laugh. He could now see parallels between himself and the Doctor; occasionally having his exile lifted by the Time Lords to sort out some galactic problem, and now the same kind of carrot was being dangled before him. "UNIT takes care of it's own. Eh, Sir John?"  
  
"Precisely."  
  
*****  
  
He was glad Doris was here. It made the farewell party that bit more bearable. Though he wasn't severing all ties, this night truly was the end of an era for him.  
  
He had seen men come and go, and had hated those times when family or relatives had to be informed of the death of a loved one. The hard part was not being able to tell them why or how they had died; how could you tell someone that their husband or son had been exterminated by Daleks, or accidentally killed by an alien ambassador? Thankfully, that was one part of the job Alistair was glad to see the back of.  
  
Later, he found himself back in what used to be the Doctor's lab. It had been many years since the TARDIS had stood in that same corner. He had to admit that he missed it, and it's owner.  
  
"We thought you'd be in here, sir."  
  
The Brigadier turned at the sound of that voice. "Good Lord, Benton! And you too, Yates!" To see his former Sergeant and Captain again, the emotion of the moment was almost too much. "Well, you two are a welcome sight," he declared, recovering himself.  
  
Benton smiled. "How are you, sir?"  
  
"All the better for seeing you." He turned to Yates. "How are you, Mike? I'm sorry we lost touch after that Golden Age business." Yates had been one of the Brigadier's most trusted men, and It had been hard to accept that he had turned against them all; for the best of intentions, if not for the right reasons. But as the Doctor had said on numerous occasions, things had a habit of turning out for the best.  
  
"I'm fine now, sir," Mike assured him. "After the trouble we had at the retreat, with those giant spiders, I managed to sort myself out. I know I didn't do myself any favours, allying myself against you like I did." Mike paused. "I'm grateful for the help you provided, afterwards."  
  
Benton decided to change the subject. "No sign of the Doc?" He looked around the lab.  
  
"You know him, Sergeant," the Brigadier answered. "He'll be off in his TARDIS somewhere. Even so . . . " The three men fell silent. This particular room held a lot of memories for each of them.  
  
"Well, we can't stand around here all evening," Mike said. "We'll miss your presentation."  
  
"And that would never do," agreed the Brigadier. "Come along, you two. I've left Doris on her own."  
  
*****  
  
Lethbridge Stewart stood on the grass verge and smiled. It had been good to see the Doctor again. In fact, it had quite literally done him the world of good. For some time since his first weeks at Brendon School, the Brigadier had been a pale reflection of the man he once was, almost as though a dark shadow had cast its net over him, weighing him down. But the events of the past day had answered many questions.  
  
Now, after an adventure on a luxurious space ship with the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa, he was back at Brendon. As he strolled down the hill in the vague direction of a local pub, the Brigadier idly wondered how he would explain the disappearance of a certain Vislor Turlough. But then, such problems could be best tackled after a pint.  
  
*****  
  
When the Brigadier received an invitation to a UNIT reunion, he didn't think twice. 'A chance to re-meet old friends,' he would later comment. On returning to his old stamping ground, he was cheered to note that, although Crichton was still in charge of UNIT, some things hadn't changed. And then the Doctor had arrived . . .  
  
"Yes, my replacement was pretty unpromising too." Lethbridge Stewart had laughed the remark off at the time, but he could see the Doctor's point. Crichton was of the old school - blinkered, only seeing what was put in front of him. No vision. Perhaps that was why he was still a Colonel.  
  
"Alistair." He turned. The man facing him was not much older than himself. In fact they could have almost been related; the suggestion had been raised many times. "Hello, Gilmore. Good to see you."  
  
"Well, I couldn't not be here," Gilmore replied. "After all, I did recommend you to head up the UK branch when UNIT first got the go-ahead."  
  
Lethbridge Stewart remembered that fateful day. "Yes, of course. I recall you were most insistent that I was the only logical candidate for the job. I often wondered why?"  
  
"I read your report on the London Event," he answered. "It put me in mind of a similar occasion a few years before." Gilmore paused. "What do you know of the Coal Hill School incident?"  
  
"Very little," the Brigadier admitted. "D Notices were slapped on that so fast, I don't think anyone knows much about it, even now." Alistair's curiosity was aroused. "What did happen, Ian?"  
  
"Well, I can't say too much - just that only a fool argues with his Doctor."  
  
The inference was not lost on the Brigadier. "You mean . . . well, I'm blowed! He kept that one quiet. Unless . . . unless it hasn't happened yet."  
  
"I certainly wouldn't rule it out." Gilmore had since met the Doctor on several occasions. "Was that him I saw earlier? A small chap in a big furry coat?"  
  
Lethbridge Stewart nodded. "Yes, one of many. You could say we've been . . . reminiscing. Well, it's a small world, Ian."  
  
"Don't you mean a small universe?" And the two men laughed, sharing a private joke.  
  
*****  
  
Lethbridge Stewart was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn't miss the day-to-day grind of UNIT as much as he had first thought. 'Perhaps,' he reflected, 'a home life was what I had been missing all these years.' But friends still kept in touch; Sarah Jane Smith, for one. They had been brought together during a proposed Yeti invasion, centred on the New World University, and had kept in contact before and after the event, but the major change in his life was being reunited with his daughter Kate. That, and the knowledge that he now had a grandson, Gordy.  
  
*****  
  
Back on Kate's houseboat, Gordy was sound asleep, and Sarah had long since made her excuses, leaving both father and daughter alone with their thoughts. They looked out onto the now peaceful river. "Kate, I'm sorry about . . . all this."  
  
"Dad, it's okay."  
  
"No, no it isn't." Alistair was determined to make some amends for his past life. "I put you and Gordy in danger. That was the last thing I wanted to do."  
  
Kate looked up at him. "Dad, I contacted you, remember? And that was a hard thing for me to do. When I was small I thought you'd abandoned us. It was only later, when Mum told me all she knew, which wasn't much." She reached out to him. "But now I've seen first hand the kind of things you went through each day. And I think I understand that bit more."  
  
Alistair took her hand. "Oh, Kate. Can you forgive an old fool?"  
  
She smiled. "Less of the 'old fool'. You're my Dad, and we're together."  
  
*****  
  
During one period of work for Sir John Sudbury, the Brigadier's path crossed with the Doctor again. In another new body, dressed in a coat that could only be described as an explosion of colour. There had been an all too brief meeting at London's East End, and later there was the Lanyon Moor Incident. But before that, Sir John had asked Alistair to check out a firm called Senenet. It was something of a turning point, as a period of incarceration forced him to re-evaluate his life, and look back on past mistakes.  
  
And no amount of military training could wipe away the thought that he might not see Doris again. Having found her all those years ago, he was not prepared to lose her, or have her go through the pain of losing him. So once that episode was over, Alistair decided that he was too old for undercover work. Effectively, Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart retired from active service.  
  
*****  
  
'Life couldn't be better,' Alistair thought as he tended his garden. As he busily set to work planting the latest purchases from the local Garden Centre, he looked back at his life, both during, and after UNIT. He had to admit, it had certainly not been dull.  
  
"Alistair?" Doris called out to him from the patio, mobile phone in her hand. "It's the Ministry."  
  
"Tell them I've retired," he called back. "Let someone else get their hands dirty for a change."  
  
She relayed his reply back and listened. "Alright, I'll tell him." Doris put the 'phone down and slowly approached her husband. She was reluctant to give him the message, for she knew what it meant. "They said to tell you 'the Doctor's back.'" At those words he paused. "Alistair, who is the Doctor?"  
  
Doris saw a faraway look in her husband's eyes. He had long ago promised to tell her all about the Doctor, but had never got around to it. And now this mysterious friend of his was back again, and explanations would have to wait.  
  
Alistair noted her look of concern and sought to reassure her. "The Doctor is a very good friend," he replied. "If he's involved, then I have to be there." He shrugged. "I'm afraid it's not something I can easily explain."  
  
"But he's important to you?" Alistair nodded. "Well, he'd better be worth it, this Doctor of yours." She scolded him gently.  
  
He gave her an encouraging smile. "I will be coming back," he assured her.  
  
Arm in arm, they strolled back to the house. "And I thought you wanted a quiet life," Doris reminded him.  
  
"Of course, Doris," Alistair replied. "I wouldn't have it any other way." 


End file.
